[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 37 (Thursday, March 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO FIX THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  (Mrs. BUSTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, I welcomed Emily Carlson 
to the Capitol as my guest to President Trump's address to Congress.
  Emily comes from a rural town called Abingdon, Illinois. She is the 
co-owner of a small family-owned business, and her husband, Kevin, is a 
farmer. Like a lot of hardworking Midwesterners, they don't want a 
handout; they just want a fair shot at success.
  But 17 years ago, all of that was put at risk when Emily was 
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which is a chronic and expensive 
disease to treat, and she will have this the rest of her life. They 
could barely afford the most basic care for Emily because she was in 
the high-risk pool in the State of Illinois.
  Too often the Carlsons literally had to vacillate between affording 
Emily's medication or going deeper into debt. However, since the 
passage of the Affordable Care Act, life has been much better for the 
Carlsons. Today their family of four has much better coverage, and it 
costs much less.
  Mr. Speaker, President Trump's repeal wouldn't just undermine Emily's 
health; it would devastate their family's economic security, along with 
those of many families throughout our Nation. Instead, let's work 
together to keep what is working and fix what is not.

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